NOAA awards $5.5 million for important watershed education projects for students around the country

NOAA has announced $5.5 in educational grants to allow K-12 students from across the country to participate in important watershed education projects. There are 59 projects awarded grants this year that will allow the education programs of the Bay-Watershed and Training Program (dubbed B-WET) with the goal of creating sustained, hands-on activities to promote taking an active role in environmental conservation and stewardship.

As noted in the NOAA press release, some of this year’s grant winners will launch programs to learn about currents and marine debris off the coast of Hawaii, data driven field investigations in the Pacific Northwest, invasive species in the Great Lakes, and developing urban schoolyard habitats near Chesapeake Bay. B-WET currently serves seven areas of the country: California, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and the Pacific Northwest.

“Field-based STEM education activities, like those funded by B-WET, are a critical part of NOAA’s education portfolio,” said Louisa Koch, director of education at NOAA. “There is growing evidence that these types of activities contribute to understanding and commitment to environmental conservation and stewardship, which is core to NOAA’s mission.”

The B-WET program also funds educator training programs to help teachers incorporate meaningful watershed educational experiences, as well as NOAA data and other resources, into their classrooms.

NOAA announces $5.5 million to support watershed education projects for K-12 students around the country

NOAA today announced the winners of its recent competition for education grants that will allow thousands of K-12 students around the country to get outside and participate in hands-on environmental education opportunities. A total of 59 projects will benefit from $5.5 million in grants from the NOAA Office of Education’s Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program that will support activities ranging from data driven field investigations in the Pacific Northwest to studies of storm water management and invasive species in the Great Lakes.

All recipients of B-WET grants emphasize meaningful watershed educational experiences—sustained, hands-on activities that are aligned with academic learning standards and responsive to regional education and environmental priorities. Some 2012 student activities include learning about currents and marine debris on the coast of Hawaii with the Malama Kai Foundation, participating in field investigations in the Gulf of Mexico with the University of Texas, and developing urban schoolyard habitats with the Living Classrooms Foundation in Chesapeake Bay.

“Field-based STEM education activities, like those funded by B-WET, are a critical part of NOAA’s education portfolio,” said Louisa Koch, director of education at NOAA. “There is growing evidence that these types of activities contribute to understanding and commitment to environmental conservation and stewardship, which is core to NOAA’s mission.”

B-WET also provides funding for formal K-12 educator training programs to help teachers incorporate meaningful watershed educational experiences, as well as NOAA data and other resources, into their classrooms. Teachers and education professionals involved with the B-WET Program are equipped with information they can share with their students and communities for many years to come.

B-WET currently serves seven areas of the country: California, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. This is the first year NOAA has made awards in the Great Lakes region, made possible by funds from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. New 2012 B-WET recipients, by region, are:

These new B-WET grants will reach an estimated 40,000 students and 4,000 teachers this year. New awards last from one to three years in duration and range in value from $10,000 to $420,000. Grantees were selected through a rigorous peer review process administered by a NOAA program office in their region. All B-WET applicants are encouraged to partner with local NOAA offices, and/or utilize local NOAA field sites and data where appropriate.

Congress established NOAA’s B-WET Program in 2002. Since that time NOAA has awarded more than $50 million to support more than 680 projects around the country. NOAA is currently accepting applications for new B-WET projects for the 2013 fiscal year. For more information on NOAA’s Office of Education funding opportunities, visit: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/grants/funding.html

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